Frye caps double-header sweep over Tigers with walk-off homerun
April 10, 2007
Shreveport, LA---The LSUS Pilots (30-9) pulled out a 6-4 victory in game one of Tuesday’s double-header against Paul Quinn College (7-38), but were left wondering when their offense was going to kick it into high gear. The answer to their question was game two. Chris Frye capped off the Pilots 15-5 victory with a three-run homerun in the bottom of the 5th inning marking the Pilots highest run total in a single game this season.
Game 1
The Tigers capitalized on a one out hit by pitch taken by Jason Curry in the top of the 1st to take an early 1-0 lead. Michael Bentley belted a double to straight away center field scoring Curry from second with two outs off Pilots starter Blake Pinkston.
Pilots leadoff hitter David McGhee drew a lead off walk from Tigers starter Shawn Pennington in the bottom half of the frame and promptly advanced to third base after Colin Moro ripped a first pitch double down the left field line. The Pilots could only muster one run off an RBI sacrifice fly from Frye which scored McGhee from third, but Moro was thrown out by Justin Johnson after trying to tag up from second base.
After a scoreless 2nd inning, the Pilots offense came through with three runs in bottom of the 3rd to take a 4-1 lead. A two out single to left field from Bryan Cooksey scored Moro and pinch runner Josh Todd. Cooksey advanced to second base on the throw attempt to the plate which allowed him to score one batter later after a Quenton Shamsabady RBI single to left, accounting for the third run of the inning.
The Tigers responded with two runs of their own in the 4th inning via a wild pitch from Pinkston which allowed Bentley who singled earlier in the inning to score from third base. Pinkston responded by striking out Jorge Rivera with two outs, but Rivera advanced to 1st after Pilots catcher Scott Talley hit Rivera in the back with the throw attempt to first after blocking the ball in the dirt which allowed James Taylor to score from third base.
Pennington retired the Pilots in order in the 4th and 5th innings, and looked as though he escaped the 6th inning allowing no runs, but back-to-back misjudged fly balls to the outfield led to two Pilots runs and a 6-3 LSUS lead.
PQC added a single run in the 7th after Johnson belted an RBI single which scored Evans from second base, but Pinkston struck out Curry who represented the tying run at the plate for the final out of the contest.
Pennington (2-7) suffered the loss for the Tigers after allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and two walks while striking out one. Bentley led the Tigers offense with a 2-for-3 performance which included a double, and RBI and a run scored. Johnston finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.
For LSUS, Pinkston (3-0) finished his first complete game of the season in which he allowed four runs on six hits while striking out six in 7.0 innings of work. Talley and Shamsabady each finished 2-for-3 at the plate while teammate Ricky Sanders added two hits and an RBI. Cooksey finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
Game 2
The Pilots scored early and often in game two en route to a 15-5 victory. After starting pitcher Victor Hernandez tossed a perfect top of the 1st inning, the Pilots erupted for five runs in the bottom half of the frame.
Pilots lead off hitter Josh Todd belted a single to left field and advanced to second base after Moro was hit by a Bentley fastball offering. Bryan Stebbings delivered his first of three hits on the day with a single to right field which scored Todd and Moro. Brent Lavallee highlighted the Pilots five run outburst with a three run homerun, his 5th of the year, over the left field fence.
LSUS added two runs in the 2nd and three more in the 3rd inning to take a 10-0 lead before Hernandez ran into a stumbling block in the 4th inning. The junior right hander allowed four runs on three hits after allowing just one base runner through the first three innings. In the 5th inning, PQC capitalized on a leadoff error by the Pilots infield and scored a single run to cut the Pilots lead to 10-5.
LSUS however followed suit in the bottom of the 5th by taking advantage of two PQC errors while adding two hits including a walk-off three-run homerun off the bat of Frye which gave the Pilots a 15-5 lead, forcing the 10-run mercy rule to come in effect.
Bentley suffered the loss for the Tigers after allowing 10 runs (nine earned) on seven hits and three hit by pitches. The PQC offense mustered only four hits and committed four errors on the night defensively.
Hernandez (1-0) collected his first win of the season after allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and one walk while striking out three.
Stebbings led the Pilots offense with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate which included three RBI and two runs scored. Frye finished 1-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored while Moro pitched in with a 1-for-3 effort which included three runs scored and two RBI.
The Pilots will return to action Wednesday night when they travel to Monroe, LA to take on the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (20-13). The Warhawks sport an impressive 14-3 home record this season and currently sit in second place in the Sun Belt Conference at 10-5, half a game behind conference leading University of Louisiana-Lafayette (26-7, 11-5). Game time is scheduled for 6:30pm.
